Market research is essential for every company, regardless of whether it is in the B2B or B2C area, whether it is large or small, or whether it is new or old, because it provides decision-makers with important information to decide on the company’s way forward, to get the right product in the right place at the right price to the right person, or to keep an eye on the behavior of competitors and market trends. At the same time, this also minimizes the risks involved in making important business decisions. This course therefore aims to impart in-depth knowledge of research design and methodology and to train students to critically review scientific literature so that students can carry out their own research projects in the future.

After successfully completing the course, students have the knowledge to set up their own research projects and to assess the research of others. Thus, the students are able to

• take appropriate steps to draft topics and research questions.
• find, analyze, and utilize high quality scientific literature.
• critically evaluate the various qualitative and quantitative methods and choose a suitable research method for an own research problem.
• discuss one's opinion on the published research.
• know the formal and linguistic requirements of a text and to implement them.
• pay attention to the ethical requirements for research.

Participants are expected to attend all scheduled appointments. In case, there is an important reason (emergency, illness, force majeure), a maximum of 1 appointment can be missed. However, you must notify me by e-mail. Assessment-relevant assignments missed during the appointment cannot be made up for and will affect your grade accordingly.

To achieve the aims, a combination of different methods is used, such as lectures, presentations, class discussions, hands-on exercises, and group work.

Students can reach max. 100 pts (100%). The grading components are as follows:

• 20% Exam (individual grade)
• 50% Presentations and exercises in class and at home (group grade)
• 30% Short paper (individual grade)

The grading scheme is as follows: 

• 90 pts or more: 1 (excellent)
• 80 pts or more: 2 (good)
• 70 pts or more: 3 (satisfactory)
• 60 pts or more: 4 (sufficient)
• below 60 pts: 5 (fail)

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